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This note of thanks from the British king was given to David Scott
before his service in the British Expeditionary Force ended. (OSA, Oregon
Defense Council Records, Personal
Military Service Records, Box 2, Douglas County, School
District No. 39)

Voices less heardIn addition to the men on active duty in the United States
armed forces, many other people directly supported the war effort. Among
these were perhaps hundreds of Oregon residents who fought with British,
Canadian, and other forces during the war. Women also served heroically,
often in dangerous conditions. And while hundreds of Oregonians died
in World War I, even more were wounded, some disabled for life. Their
voices
speak to the trials and sacrifices of war endured by those who may
not have been as prominent in the headlines of the day.

It should be noted that the voices of minorities
are virtually absent from the personal military service histories
compiled by the State Council of Defense for Oregon. This likely is
partially due to the relatively small numbers of Native Americans,
African Americans, and other minorities who fought in the war from
Oregon.
But society also tended to overlook the contributions of minorities
during the time. The state historian did contact entities such as the
Chemawa Indian School near Salem to request information but had little
success.

On active service with the AlliesMany Oregon residents, such as those who were citizens of Canada
or Great Britain, served in the British Expeditionary Force during World
War I. Many of them answered the call to fight in 1914 and 1915 after
the outbreak
of war. As with Oregonians serving in the United States forces, they
risked their lives to serve their countries and protect democracy. However,
many of them were exposed to the dangers and sacrifices of war for two
or three years longer.

Some veterans saw an advertising opportunity in their return home. The
Sutherlin newspaper wrote this about David Scott, seated: "David
Scott, familiarly known by many
of
our
citizens
as
'Scotty' arrived here Monday from Vancouver B.C., having recently been
discharged
from a Canadian regiment after doing service several months overseas.
Mr. Scott has a bullet wound in his left arm as a result of a German
machine gun, but he is in shape to do your painting, and guarantee a
good job. He is now doing some painting on Ed. R. Paxton's residence." (OSA)

One of them, Charles Franklin Buchanan of Portland, enlisted in the
Canadian Army in April 1915 as part of the "Loyal Legion Seaforth Highlanders
of
Canada." After a promotion to corporal he transferred to the "Duke
of Connaught's Own Battalion Canadian Infantry" where he was promoted
to sergeant-major. Eager to get to the front, Buchanan resigned his
position and enlisted as a private to get into action quicker.

By the beginning of 1916 he got his wish and spent nearly two years
at the front. After a fierce 1917 battle in Flanders in which practically
his entire company was either killed or wounded, he was once again
promoted. By July of 1918 Buchanan earned the commission of lieutenant
in the 1st Canadian Reserve. He suffered wounds in September 1918 and
again in early October but returned from the hospital to the front
quickly both times.

On October 12 he was in the middle of a fight on the Sensee Canal
in France. According to Canadian General Philpot, Buchanan "had destroyed
a German machine gun nest and had killed several German officers and
men single-handed and had dug in on the bank of the canal, awaiting
the English artillery, when a sniper killed him."

Described by General Philpot as "a natural leader," Buchanan was posthumously
awarded the British Military Cross for his bravery. In his last letter
to his
parents "he
expressed a longing again to visit his parents and other relatives
in Oregon.
His
determination,
however,
was not to give up the fight until the power of the Hun was broken
forever."

Oregon women offer care here and abroadOregon women served as nurses for the United States Army and
Navy as well as for supporting organizations such as the Red Cross. Some
worked in France and other war torn countries while others served at
military camps in the United States.

Farmer William McKern and his wife, Edna, saw their 20 year old daughter
named Enid off from home near Mt. Vernon in rugged Grant County to
start her new
life as a nurse. She had heard about the government's call for nurses
and had dreamed about foreign service. So, on a fall day in 1918,
after enlisting with a
friend
in Canyon City, she began her
preparation in the United States Student Nurse Reserve. The reserve
assigned her to St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Baker [now Baker City].

Enid McKern wanted to serve as a nurse in France during World War I.
She trained at St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Baker. (OSA)

Once in Baker, Enid began her studies and training. But within a few
days, while helping patients, she was stricken with Spanish Influenza.
The hospital informed Enid's parents and her mother soon arrived from
Mt. Vernon. But Enid developed pneumonia and, after a total of nine
days, she died. Her father arrived at the hospital just after she
passed away. The family returned her body to Mt. Vernon where she
received a military funeral, another victim of the flu epidemic raging
throughout the state. She was eulogized as a "big, strong, fine
looking girl" who offered her life and died "while serving
others that this world might be better."

Many Oregon women, such as Irish born Stasia Walsh of Pendleton, did
go on to see extensive service in France. She joined the Army Nurse
Corps through the Red
Cross in
1918.
Already a nurse in civilian life, she quickly became a member of Base
Hospital 46 and in March was assigned to service at Camp Lee, Virginia.
By the
Fourth
of July Stasia was shipping out with the hospital for duty in France.
She served with Base Hospital 46 and later Base Hospital 81 for the
duration of the war, tending to the injured and sick soldiers coming
in from the front. Her hospital service in France continued into June
of 1919 as the country tried to recover from four years of total war.

Other Oregon women served as doctors in Europe during and after the
war. The American Women's Hospitals organization carried
out
work
related
to both the war and to relief efforts. In cooperation with other organizations
such as the Red Cross, it operated hospitals and dispensaries in several
parts of France. But many of the sick and injured in isolated villages
could
not travel
to the hospitals because of the war-ravaged roads:

"For this reason a dispensary
circuit was arranged and by means of ambulances (mobile dispensaries)
our medical women and nurses, carrying supplies, bandages,
medicines and everything necessary for infirmary work, visited
these villages on a pre-arranged schedule and held clinics
which were attended by thousands of villagers, mostly women
and children who were sick and in distress. Those who were
bedridden and in need of special care were taken to the central
hospital."

The organization carried out similar work after the war in Serbia
and the Near East as famine and disease ravaged those areas.

According to the chairman of
the national organization, Dr. Esther Lovejoy, "Our Oregon medical
women
made exceptionally fine records in the American Women's Hospitals
overseas service. We have a state of less than a million people and
while I
cannot say exactly the number, I believe there is only one state
with a larger number of medical women in our service than Oregon, according
to population." She especially cited two Oregon women, Dr. Mary
MacLachlin and Dr. Mary Evans. They had been serving in a hospital
in Luzancy,
in a devastated part of France, for almost a year. Because of their
selfless service, they were decorated by the French government and "made
citizens of that municipality [Luzancy]."

Allen Gribble of Portland was wounded seven times in the war. (OSA)

The disabled return homeThe wounded began arriving at the field and base hospitals soon
after American soldiers first took to the trenches of France. Many were "fixed
up" and returned to the battlefield. Others suffered injuries that
would spell the end of their active service. Some were disabled for life.

Most men would live with partial disabilities. Allen T. Gribble of
Clackamas worked as a letter carrier before signing up for duty on
the Mexican border. He later enlisted in the Marine Corps and, after
training, was sent to the front at St. Mihiel in August 1918. Soon in heavy
action, Gribble was wounded seven times and lived to tell about it.
His wounds included: "Shot through the nose; index finger of left
hand shot off; shot through left thigh; shell wound, right knee; shell
wound,
above right ankle; little finger of the left hand shot off." He
finally stopped fighting after the seventh wound when he was shot in
the wrist.

The marine was taken to a base hospital where "I can eat three
squares a day." Yet, Gribble grew impatient away from the battle: "[I]
am anxious to get back at them. If I don't before the war ends I know
there are plenty of other Yanks to finish the job." Gribble stayed
in France until March 1919. Still, his
wounds would leave him partially disabled for the rest of his life.

Enlarge
Ralph Boyer, front row center, lost part of a leg in an accident
while laying mines. He took advantage of the federal Soldiers' Rehabilitation
Act of 1918
to learn new skills after the war in Corvallis. (OSA)

Ralph Boyer went to Corvallis to train for a new life.
The 22 year old had enlisted to serve in coast artillery for the Army.
One day his company was planting mines. A rope slipped and one of Boyer's
legs became entangled as he was dragged violently for some distance.
His leg broke so badly that it needed to be amputated. According
to a major in the coast artillery, "he remained concious [conscious]
throughout the ordeal which was three hours. The Dr. who operated spoke
highly of his grit...."

Since the accident occurred while Boyer was on duty, he qualified
for the help under a new federal disability program. Before
World War I, most wounded soldiers died. Eighty percent of those wounded
in the Civil War died since an understanding of germs and sterile environments
was not well developed. With increased attention to preventing infections,
the survival rate improved greatly for American fighters during World
War I.

The Soldiers' Rehabilitation Act
of 1918 basically responded to the influx of disabled but otherwise
healthy veterans returning from the war. Nationwide, approximately
10,000 men were eligible for the program. Many were assigned
to business colleges,
factories, automobile schools, and other industrial institutions
across the country. The act proved so successful that two years later
it was extended to civilians with disabilities. It is now seen as a
key element in the path toward modern rehabilitation services. Disabled
veterans also benefited from the services of the United States Veterans
Bureau, which ran hospitals for injured and disabled veterans. The
bureau consolidated with two other agencies to form the Veterans Administration
in 1930.

Disabled soldier Alexander Brander of Scotland carried his war wound
shrapnel in a box. (OSA)

Oregon Agricultural College played host to numerous
disabled soldiers and sailors seeking vocational education since the
act paid student expenses. Boyer apparently enrolled at OAC. His grade
report
for the
first semester of 1919 shows him earning "B"s
in both machine shop and tractor operation.

By May 1919 OAC saw 15 members
in the campus group affectionately dubbed the "S. and S. Crip
Club," short for the Soldiers' and Sailors' Cripple Club. The
men ranged from 20 to 37 year old. One had a broken back, one had lost
a leg,
and another
was blind in one eye. One member, Alexander Brander, a Heppner resident
originally from Aberdeenshire, Scotland, carried a box with shrapnel
with him
as a
conversation piece. The shrapnel was removed from his body after he
was wounded on the Marne front the year before. The club's purpose
at OAC was to direct and improve the "social, mental and moral
opportunities" of its members. A faculty member of the OAC Department
of Vocational Education served as an active member and advisor to the
club.

(Oregon State Defense Council Records, State
Historian's Correspondence, Box 1, Folder 15, 17; Personal
Military Service Records, World War I, Scott: Box
2, Douglas County, School
District No. 39; Gribble: Box 5, Multnomah County, School District
1; Boyer: Box 1, Benton County, School District 9; Brander: Box 5,
Morrow County,
School
District
No. 1)